On a private, tailormade tour it is your own tour, it can be as long and as short as you like, include as many or as few stops, where, when for how long it is all up to you for us to personalise the tour to suit your interests, preferences and priorities.

This for example was a recent 13 day tour we have been running, including the Outer Hebrides of Harris, Lewis & the Uists from Berneray to Eriskay:

28th June

* Edinburgh airport pick up

* South Queensferry with a photostop below the 3 Forth Bridges

* Falkirk hotel check in

* Boat house dinner and canal walk with view of the Falkirk wheel

29th June

* Stirling castle tour

* scenic drive past the Wallace monument, Stirling Uni and Bridge of Allan and up the mountain road to the Auchingarrich wildlife park for lunch

* Cultybraggan WWII prisoner of war camp exhibition

* through Comrie to St. Filans/Loch Earn for a short walk

* via the Dukes pass to the forestry commission Queen Elizabeth forest park visitor centre for a coffee

* through Aberfoyle and on to the organic Portnellan farm at Loch Lomond

* Glengoyne whisky distillery tour with 2 tastings

* via the Campsie hills and Fintry back to Falkirk

30th June

* Abroath to Auchmithie coastal cliff walk

* Dundee V&A visit with views of the River Tay estuary and Discovery Point

* St. Andrews walking tour of the beach/golf course, San Salvador college, the Bishop’s palace, the harbour, cathedral and historic town centre

* via Falkland and the Lomond hills across the Forth road bridge back to Falkirk

1st July

* From Falkirk via Glenogle to Killin and the Falls of Dochart for a walk

* Glencoe visitor centre

* Fort William for fish & chips & a walk along the Old Fort William with views of the Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil sealochs and up towards Ben Nevis

* Glenfinnan viewpoint of the “Harry Potter railway bridge”, Loch Shiel and the Bonny Prince Charlie monument

* drive along the road to the isles via the scenic beaches of Arisaig, Morar and Loch Morar

* free time at Mallaig

* Mallaig to Locghboisdale/South Uist

* Drive to Benbecula for our accommodation in Nunton

2nd July – Tour of North Uist and Bernerary

* from Benbecula via Grimsay to North Uist with a stop at a bakery and smoked salmon shop

* views across the coast, the islands from the North Uist radar station

* coastal drive past golden beaches

* Bernerary beach walk

* Lochmaddy lunch

* Stone circle walk overlooking Loch Euphoirt

* Nunton beach walk & dinner

3rd July – Tour of South Uist and Eriskay

* South Uist beach walk with the weather front clearing and the coastal and mountain views improving

* Loch Skiport fjord walk

* crossing the causeway to Eriskay with a photostop up at the catholic church

* Eriskay harbour via the beach to Eriskay town walk

* Lunch at the Polochar Inn

* drop off for a beach & tidal island walk

* Lochboisdale hotel coffee

4th July – Tour of Harris

* leave Nunton and Benbecula via Grimsay and North Uist on the Bernerary to Isle of Harris/Leverburgh 1 hour ferry on a dreich and rainy day

* Leverburgh – Rodel/St. Clements church via the “golden/stone route” to the visitor centre for a coffee

* drive along the glorious beaches of Harris

* Tarbert lunch and reunion with Marianne

* brief Scalpay island visit

* spectacular drive to Huisinish with a walk and back to Tarbert to say farewll to Marianne

* drive from Harris to Lewis and to the Lathamore B&B

* Dinner in Stornoway

5th July – Tour of Lewis

* Lews castle and museum

* Gearrannan black house village

* Carloway broch

* Callanish standing stones

* to the cliffs. coastal and beach views for lunch near the roadend

* Sand dunes walk with views of Uig beach, the sea and mountains

* Aird Uig cliffs and cafe

* Caladh hotel dinner

6th July – Tour of the Northwest Highlands

* 7am ferry from Stornoway/Lewis to Ullapool

* Ullapool walk

* drive to the Kylesku fjord for lunch

* spectacular tour of the Northwest Highlands, incl. a coffee bothy stop and a walk around Point of Stoer lighthouse

* via Clachtoll and Achmelvich beach

* to Lochinver for dinner

* dramatic, wild scenery & evening drive back to Ullapool

7th July

* Corrieshalloch gorge

* Silverfalls 2 bridges walk

* Strathpeffer Victorian railway station coffee

* Glenmorangie distillery

* Dunrobin castle, gardens & falconry

* Dornoch cathedral and town

* via the Dornoch, Cromarty & Kessock bridges and Inverness to Loch Ness and our hotel

8th July

* Loch Ness photostop

* via Inverness & the Culloden Moor battlefield

* Cawdor castle, gardens & lunch

* Brief walk along the Moray Firth

* Drive along the Beauly Firth

* visit of Beauly

* Urquhart castle/Loch Ness photostop

* Drumnadrochit whisky dinner

9th July

* via Fort Augustus/south side of Loch Ness

* spectacular rural route

* sheep herding

* breakfast at the Grouse & Trout steading

* via Aviemore for a brief visit of the Newtonmore Highland museum village

* via Dalwhinnie to the House of Bruar for a stop

* scenic drive past Blair Castle, Killiecrankie, Pitlochry and the Athol Palace and Dunkeld across the Forth road bridges to Edinburgh

10th July

1/2 day walking tour of Edinburgh

5 day tour prices – Unicorn Tours

Personalised & private small group tours all over Scotland (100+ itineraries: ½ – 7 day tour options & discounted multi-day tours to choose from) – with a set daily tour price for our tour guide driver & 8 passenger seater mini-bus (due to the fixed same overall cost for up to 8 passengers, the cheapest per person price for a private small group tour is if 8, 7, 6 or 5 are travelling together to share the set fixed daily cost, which is the same total cost, no matter if there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 passengers on a private mini-bus tour)

All of these private & personalised, small group tours of Scotland

are available on any available green calendar days for private tours

• Choose any private & personalised tailormade 1/2 day tour on any available green calendar day.
• Choose any private & personalised tailormade 1 day tour on any available green calendar day.
• Choose any private & personalised tailormade 2 day tour on any 2 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 2 day tours will already show a 2.5% discount.
• Choose any private & personalised tailormade 3 day tour on any 3 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 3 day tours will already show a 5% discount.
• Choose any private & personalised tailormade 4 day tour on any 4 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 4 day tours will already include a 7.5% discount.
• Choose any private personalised & tailormade 5 day tour on any 5 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 5 day tours will already include a 10% discount.
• Choose any private personalised & tailormade 6 day tour on any 6 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 6 day tours is discounted by 12.5%.
• Choose any private personalised & tailormade 7 day tour on any 7 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 7 day tour prices already show the 15% discount. 

Additionally from September to May there is a 12.5% student discount, which also applies to seniors over 65 and to children up to 17 travelling as part of a family group.

Information about tour options for a private tour in general

Private & personalised tailormade tours to suit your group’s preferences

This is your very own private tour for you and your friends and family members of up to 8 people travelling on this tour together.

Before any private tour, we always discuss with you and check for your must-see stops, interests, hobbies, activities, preferences, priorities and any special requests you might have and we ask you about your preferred pace of travel so to tailor make and personalise the tour to suit your needs.

The route, the stops and the itinerary we give on our website for any private tour are for information and guidance only, as in the end it is you, who decides, what you wish to do, where you wish to stop and what you wish to do and see.

Any private tour itinerary can be shortened, extended or amended, if you wish to do so.

Flexibility on private tours

We also like to keep things flexible as our experience is that there are places, once you arrive and see them, you just fall in love with and wish to spend more time and longer.

whereas some other times we arrive at a place and they are different from what you had expected and you are ok to have a shorter stop and to move on quicker.

Flexibility is also good as on a beautiful gorgeous blue sunny day when all colours in nature and the landscapes are sparkling and you have clear and amazing far distant visibility and the scenery and places are at their best, you probably prefer to spend more time outdoors, while on a stormy, wet, dark, grey and cold day, you are likely to prefer more indoor venues during your stops.

Travelling at your own pace on private tours

Some guests are on a whirlwind tour with little time and wish to pack as much into a short time as possible and are ok with just short photo stops,

whereas other tour guests prefer to travel at a more leisurely pace to be able to explore and discover and soak it all in and leaving the tour with a memorable and lasting experience.

All of this is possible within the constraints of your chosen route, the distances involved

and during the winter season the shorter daylight hours we have.

Lunch breaks on private tours

Some guests put a lot of emphasis on a good quality lunch in a good atmospheric restaurant and we can prebook lunch venues,

whereas other guests are ok to just stop at a supermarket for a sandwich to eat on the go

or just need a short lunch stop for some light snack to eat.

Your tour options on any private tour are unlimited and endless

Same place, same route – but one one private tour, the private tour guests would want to visit the castle, while on another tour at the same place, they want a whisky tour instead and yet again same place on the next tour the private tour guests, want to just go for a walk on the beach there, while another time at the same place, they just want to go shopping, visit the museum or stop at the golf course – so same place, but on each private tour at this very same place, we visit different places and the itinerary, stops and experience is different. 

As this is a private & personalised tour to suit your interests, preferences, hobbies and activities, it is up to you and we can either offer our normal tour itinerary for the location with all the many local highlights and sights and be flexible depending on the season, the weather, the time we have and also be fully flexible during the tour (as some places, you will love and stay longer and at other places you come to, you might wish to just take a photo and then leave, so in the end you might on the day of the tour decide to stay longer or shorter at some of the places we visit or you might still decide to add in some additional stops and places you had not thought about before)  and also partially or fully adjust it to suit your interests and preferences or entirely turn it into a specialist interest tour “a whisky tour”, “a castle, cathedral, historic sights tours”, a “walking tour”, a “nature & wildlife tour”, a “golf tour”, an “activity tour”, etc. depending on what you request (also see our full range of  Activities, special interests & tour themes.)

If it says on the tour itinerary, the tour starts in A and ends in Z and on our journey from A to Z we are travelling and can be stopping at B, C, D, E, F…… X & Y,

it might be the same route on every such private tour, but with every private tour group and individuals, it could still be an entirely & very different tour after all,

as there are so many different special interests & tour themes

so that the main focus of some private tour groups could be

• architecture & charming towns & villages
• castles, history
• child-friendly stops
• churches, abbeys & religious sites
• dining & and having a great lunch eating out
• events based, such as visiting the Highland games while on the tour with us
• family history & genealogy
• gardens, flowers & parks
• golf, football or other sports’ venues
• literature, film or movie fictional based tour, i.e. visiting filming locations of Outlander, Harry Potter, Shetland crime series, Downtown Abbey. etc.
• nature & wildlife, seabirds, puffins or whale
• watching
• the scenery, the coast & beaches
• snow and wintry landscapes
• tourist steam train in conjunction with our tour
• walking
• waterfalls
• whisky distilleries, gin and breweries
• etc.

Pick ups & drop offs anywhere on private tours

As mentioned in the pick up section, on a private tour we can pick up from anywhere and drop off anywhere and offer staggered free pick ups and drop offs, which are dependent on the distance from our Alloa home base near Stirling. Our home base is 30 miles from Edinburgh, Glasgow & Perth in the heart of the Scottish Central belt:

•  for short & half day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 15 miles of our Alloa home base (which includes Stirling, Falkirk, Dunfermline & Gleneagles)
•  for 1 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 35 miles of our Alloa home base (which additionally includes Edinburgh, Glasgow & Perth)
•  for 2, 3 & 4 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 50 miles of our Alloa home base (which additionally includes Dundee, St. Andrews & the entire Scottish Central belt)
• for 5, 6 & 7 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 75 miles of our Alloa home base

Additionally as stated we sometimes offer free pick ups for places on the route to our destination, even though they might exceed the free mileage zone, so for example for a West Coast tour and we need to head westbound anyway for the tour, we could be pick up at locations west free of charge, depending on the exact route and distances involved.

(During a few weeks every year we are also Shetland, Orkney, Hebridean Isles or regionally based

and the free pick ups will then be based from that local area, such as on the Shetland, Orkney or on some of the Hebridean Isles for example.)

Accommodation on multi-day tours is your choice

Some of our guests are budget travellers, whereas others are luxurious travellers, while others chose a mid-range 3* hotel.

We are happy to give you tips, links and info about your accommodation options for the towns and villages we are staying overnight, but in the end it is up to you, where you would like to stay, at which hotel or guesthouse and for which price.

However much or however little you wish to spend for your overnight accommodation is your choice.

On a private tour we will pick you up from any accommodation in the morning and in the evening drop you off at any accommodation of your choice for your overnight tour accommodation and and chosen location.

Private 5 day tour pick ups & drop offs anywhere throughout Scotland, incl. the Hebridean, Orkney & Shetland Isles

*** for those in your private group, who can’t make it for the full 5 days tour

(& for those prefer to fly to/from the Scottish island(s) quicker

without the need to catch the ferry and include the Scottish mainland tour part to the ferryport)  ***

• We are happy to pick you up from the island ferry
• We are happy to pick you up from island airport

—

• We are also happy to drop you off at island ferry terminal
• We are also happy to drop you off at island airport

Our standard tours start from / finish at the Scottish mainland:

Pick up / drop off points for private small group 5 Days Tours, from anywhere as it is your own private tour:

• within the Stirling/Uni area
• within the Forth Valley area
• from within the Scottish Central belt, Edinburgh & Glasgow included
• from within the Dundee, St. Andrews & Perth area
• throughout Scotland

+

• from places listed along or nearby the route and the stops of this particular 5 Days Tour

To enquire about this tour or to book please email contact@unicorntours.co.uk

As this will be your very own tailormade, personalised, flexible private small group tour, we will discuss:

• Your preferred travel dates
• Your preferred route
• Based on your preferred route, we will give a choice of overnight locations to stay
• Once you have chosen your preferred overnight location, we would like to know about your preferred type of accommodation, any special requests or a price range and your preferred roomtypes
• Based on your choice, for example hotel with * ** *** **** ***** star rating, guesthouse/B&B, self-catering or budget hostel accommodation, etc. for each overnight location, we can then give you suggestions and also check the room availability for each night

Accommodation

• Unicorn Tours is happy to assist you with your questions regarding your accommodation & accommodation booking
• The general rule is that you should then book your accommodation yourself, let us know where you are staying during which night, as it is there that we will drop you off at the end of the tour day and pick you up on the beginning of the next tour day

• The choice of your accommodation, how much or how little you wish to spend for your overnight accommodation is unconnected and separate from your tour with Unicorn Tours throughout the daytime – for the same day and tour, we have picked up guests from 5* hotels and guests from budget hostels, but the tour experience during the daytime with Unicorn Tours remains the same.

• When ferries or any other additional costs are involved, we also want to make sure, you are happy with those

Once the tour details, including

• tour itinerary & special requests
• pick up/drop off locations & timings
• tour duration, passenger numbers and price
• etc.
• have been discussed and agreed
• and you are happy to proceed with the booking
• we send you an invoice which allows for payment by Paypal / card or by BACS bank transfer

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email  contact@unicorntours.co.uk to discuss further